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Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Close to Nature

"None can escape its charms. Its natural beauty cleans and warms like a fire, and you will be willing to stay forever in one place like a tree."...John Muir

"Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."...John Muir

Well, we did not have the luxury of time, nor the physical strengths to spend an entire week at the wilderness...we could only afford two days...and we tried our very best to make full use of it.

It was late morning by the time we entered the park. We had a light lunch...made up of simple sandwiches and light snacks...by the beautiful Tenaya Lake. We then stopped over at the Olmsted Point. It took me a while to figure out the rounded back view of the Half Dome from this scenic vista point. After making a couple of stops along the way, by late afternoon, we made out way out of the park, as the only accommodation that we could find...or rather we could afford, was about an hour's drive away from the park entrance at the town of Mariposa.

The next day, we head back to the park and drove straight up to the Glacier point. We were all very excited when we got to the trail head for the Sentinel Dome. It is a very easy trail except for the very last few metres up to the granite dome itself.

We came across this rock formation on the trail, from a distance I thought it really looked like the side view of a giant's head...the 'eye', 'nose' and 'chin' are so prominent!

My elder boy enjoyed the walk as he loves anything that has got to do with science...he stopped by to examine this tree trunk...and trying to 'count' how old the tree had lived. He was smart enough to give up within a few seconds!

Along the way, we saw this interesting puzzle-like bark of a Ponderosa pine...and even spotted a deer...

We felt like we were on top of the world when we finally reached the peak. The 360 degree views of the valley at this 'watch-tower' were simply awesome!

We went on to enjoy a picnic lunch at the Glacier Point...

and were delighted to have company...

At the Glacier Point, you get to see the most spectacular views of the entire Yosemite Valley...cut and sculpted into this U-shaped valley by mother nature.

Besides the magnificent granite formation, Yosemite is also the home to several waterfalls...

We ended our trip with a strenuous hike up to the footbridge of the Vernal Fall footbridge, before the long drive back to the San Francisco bay area.

We drove a total of 1500km on this 4-day road trip...hiked several miles on different trails and took many pictures and video clips. Most importanly, we brought home a lasting memory of the wonderful times we spent as a family.

Hi, I found your blog as I was doing a search for mango recipes! I enjoyed reading about your trip to Yosemite; we just returned from there (it was our first time) and absolutely loved it. We were only able to hike to Vernal Falls and it was quite memorable. Look forward to reading more of your blog.